


Heart of Hearts

by Amy (InnitMarvelous), I love Tony Stark 3000 FOREVER (InnitMarvelous), InnitMarvelous



Series: Endgame Broke My Heart [7]
Category: Iron Man (Movies), Marvel Cinematic Universe, The Avengers (Marvel Movies)
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, Drama, Emotional Hurt/Comfort, F/M, Family, Friendship, Grief/Mourning, Hurt/Comfort, I will make it as happy an ending as I can with the fact Tony's not alive in this, Iron Man 3 reference, Or that's my goal, Post-Avengers: Endgame (Movie), This set like 4 years after Endgame, marvelbingo2019
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-09-14
Updated: 2020-01-03
Packaged: 2020-10-18 05:21:17
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 5,982
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/20633753
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/InnitMarvelous/pseuds/Amy, https://archiveofourown.org/users/InnitMarvelous/pseuds/I%20love%20Tony%20Stark%203000%20FOREVER, https://archiveofourown.org/users/InnitMarvelous/pseuds/InnitMarvelous
Summary: One night following a business dinner, Pepper loses something very precious and priceless to her.A fill forMarvel Bingo 2019promptHurt/Comfort.





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> My apologies for the angst but please know I will try to end this on an upper note as a note cane get with Tony still being gone.

He entered the emergency room as briskly as walking with leg braces would allow him, and made his way straight over to the admissions desk. The young woman behind the desk looked up as he approached, and raised her hand to point at a metal stand with a dispenser on it.

"Sir, if you are not experiencing any signs of a heart attack or do not have an injury that requires immediate medical attention, please take a number, then have a seat in the waiting room, and one of the triage nurses will be with you as soon as possible."

"Oh, no no I'm not here because I'm sick or hurt. I'm here because I got a call from a friend who is currently being treated in the E.R. I've come to see about her and hopefully take her home if she's ready to go."

"Name?"

"James Rhodes."

"Your friend's name?"

Shaking his head, and rubbing his eyes he said, "Sorry, long day. Potts. Virginia Potts."

The young lady nodded, and typed in the name, "Yes, we did admit her to triage about ninety-five minutes ago."

"Can I see her please?"

"Yes, but only after I have verified that you are on Miss Potts's emergency contacts list, and I've seen some identification."

"I am on her contacts," he replied, while he pulled out his ID for her to see, "I'm listed as James Rhodes."

"Yes, sir, I see that. Thank you." 

Although she didn't actually roll her eyes, Rhodey thought he heard a mental eye roll in there somewhere. But he wasn't going to say anything about it because she didn't actually roll her eyes and because he was very tired which meant starting something with her over something so minor was the last thing on his mind. Like he had told her, it had been a long day, and he had not long been in bed when--

"Yes, sir, I see your name listed under Miss Potts's emergency contacts. If you want I will call back to triage and let them know that you'd like to come back and see Miss Potts."

"Thank you."

She nodded, picked up the phone, and after dialing a number spoke into the phone. He silently stood by as she said what she had to say to get him cleared. The conversation lasted less than thirty seconds. She hung the phone up and looked back at him.

"If you go through that door there, you can go back to see Miss Potts now. She's in Triage Curtain One."

"Thank you."

He stepped up to the door she had indicated, and waited until he heard a buzzing noise before he pulled on the handle to open it. He entered the inner part of the emergency room, and was greeted by another young woman dressed in mint green scrubs.

"May I help you, sir?"

"Yes. I'm looking for Triage Curtain One." About the time he finished speaking he heard the murmur of a woman’s voice that he knew. 

The nurse pointed at a curtained section, confirming for him where Pepper was. 

"Thanks." 

He started towards the curtained area, and was stopped short of the curtain when a police officer who had been standing off to the side stepped into his pathway.

"Sorry, sir, but you can't come any closer."

Rhodey looked back at the curtain, and saw a couple more police officers were standing just outside the area, and were probably directly in front of a gurney or hospital bed. 

"Could you please clear the area, sir?"

He looked at the officer, "Listen, my name is James Rhodes, and I'm a friend of hers. I'm also on her emergency contact list, and she called me, asking me to come down the hospital to take her home when the doctors are ready to release her."

"Could I see some I--"

The edge of the curtain was pulled back, and Pepper's face peered at him from around it.

"It's okay, officer. I know him."

The police man nodded, and returned to where he'd previously been standing. Pepper motioned for him to come over to where she was.

"Hey," he said as he joined her.

"Hey," she responded.

Rhodey studied her for injuries, and she looked okay except for a bandage around her left wrist. Hopefully it was just a sprain and not actually broken.

One of the police officers cleared her throat, "Um, Miss Potts, excuse me, but we have a few more questions we need to ask you, ma’am.”

Pepper nodded, giving them a quiet, “Okay.”

He didn’t say anything, not wanting to interrupt the police officers any further. He put a hand on Pepper’s shoulder to let her feel he was there, and would be there when she needed him.

Another five minutes total went by and they were as alone as someone can be in a hospital ER with only a curtain giving them privacy from the outside world. Once they were gone, Pepper looked at him and crumbled. 

"Hey, hey, there. It's alright," Rhodey said, immediately enveloping her in a hug, "I know you're a little banged up and all but that's all right?" A doctor hadn't been back to see her, and she hadn't told him anything herself because the police just left literally a minute ago, but yes, she seemed to be okay.

Well there was the fact her wrist was hurt too, and she might have a bruise on one of her cheeks but she was okay. She was as  _ okay _ as someone could be after what had happened.

Pepper continued to cry for a few minutes though, and because she's always been one of the strongest people he's ever known in his life, but she had been irrevocably changed after Tony died, and Rhodey is at a loss what to do. So he just keeps on hugging her, and he lets her cry it out. She is just about settled down when another person dressed in scrubs, this time a man, appears at the foot of the curtained area they're in.

"Miss Potts?" he asked cautiously.

With a couple of sniffles, Pepper pulls back from Rhodey, and while wiping at her eyes turned her head to look at him, "Yes?"

"I'm Doctor Baker," he said, "I have taken a look at your x-rays and..." He trailed off with what he was saying, the direction he was looking in was that of Rhodey.

"Oh, it's okay, doctor, he’s family. You can say everything in front of him."

The doctor nodded, "Okay, then. Your wrist isn't broken but you do have a very bad sprain. Before we cut you loose, I would like to put a splint on it so remains immobile. You will need to rest it for the next forty-eight hours and apply ice compresses. You can use frozen vegetables for that, just make sure you wrap them in a towel, and don't leave it on your wrist for any longer than ten minutes at a time. You'll also need to elevate your wrist to where it's above your heart, try using a pillow or the back of a chair to help with that."

"What about pain?" Rhodey asked since she didn't.

"Over the counter pain meds will do fine. Just make sure it's an anti-inflammatory like Advil, Aleve, or Motrin. Do you have any questions you'd like to ask me?"

"How long will it take for my wrist to heal?"

"Normally if the sprain is a mild one, a few days to one week. But in your case, although it doesn't require surgical intervention, your injury may take anywhere from a few weeks to heal completely to maybe a month or two. There's no way of knowing exactly."

Pepper nodded, "Okay, thank you, doctor."

Doctor Baker waited a beat to see if either of them would say anything else, "Alright, I am going to send a nurse over to splint your wrist, and we'll get you out of here."

"Thank you, Doctor Baker."

He gave them a nod, and disappeared, jotting down something on the clipboard as he went.

"So," Rhodey began once they were alone, "Can I ask you what happened exactly? Because when the hospital people called, beyond telling you were not seriously hurt or didn't have any life threatening injuries, they wouldn't tell me much."

"Well, I went to a business dinner earlier tonight, and I got mugged afterwards."

He gave her a long look. He had already figured out as much. "Happy wasn't with you."

"No, he wasn't, and before you say I should have had him with me, the dinner was in a very upscale part of Manhattan where I didn't think I would need him to be with me." Tears started glistened in her eyes again, "But that was stupid obviously, and thanks to me doing something so stupid such as not having Happy or someone with me, I've lost something I won't ever be able to replace."

Rhodey felt the knot that had been in his stomach since he had gotten a call about her being in the emergency room tightened when she said this. What  _ exactly _ did she mean she had lost something that she couldn't replace?

As if she was reading his mind she told him, "What I mean is I've lost one of the necklaces given to me by Tony." 

"He stole one of the necklaces that Tony gave you?" he asked slowly, as though he were uncertain as to whether or not he had heard her correctly.

Pepper looked at him, nodding, and she was about to confirm what she said when she was interrupted by the arrival of the nurse.

"Okay Miss Potts, I'm here to put the splint Doctor Baker would like for you to wear on... that is if you're ready for me to do so?"

"Yes, I'm ready."

"Well, let's get you splintered up so you can get out of here and maybe get you home in time to get some sleep!"  
  
  



	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The next chapter which I hope to post today will be the conclusion of this story.

It was almost an hour later before Pepper walked into the city apartment she shared with her daughter. It was only after she had taken her heels off, and rubbed her tired feet did she look in Rhodey's direction. He had followed her in, telling her he wanted to make sure she got in safely. She gestured for him to be quiet pointing towards the couch where a familiar form lay fast asleep.

Peter had stayed with Morgan tonight while Pepper had been away at her business dinner. He loved her like the little sister he had never had before, and he loved spending as much time as he possibly as he could with her especially since he was going into his last year of college. 

Rhodey frowned when he saw Peter knowing that having a conversation with Pepper now wouldn’t be possible tonight. They were both exhausted, so he didn’t ask for them to talk in another part of the apartment. He just gave her a hug instead, whispered for her to take care of her wrist, and wished her good night before he silently slipped out. ‘

After Rhodey left, Pepper looked down at Peter’s sleeping form. She debated on whether or not she needed to wake him so he could go to sleep in his own bed. She decided against it in the end since the way he sleeping didn’t look like it’d leave him with unwelcomed soreness come morning. She also didn't feel like having a conversation with him at this time of the morning about why her wrist was in a splint. Instead, she got a blanket for him, then covered him with it. She went to check in on Morgan to make sure she was asleep and appeared to be comfortable before she got ready for bed, and went to her room.

Sitting down on her queen bed, she looked over at the three pictures on her nightstand. The first and third pictures were of Tony with Morgan at different times of the early tender years of her daughter’s life when she had her father still with her. In one of the pictures, it was taken shortly after she was born. She smiled sadly at the picture, at how Tony was so fascinated with the little face he was gazing down at. He’d been so enraptured he hadn't even noticed when she'd snapped the picture with her phone. In the second picture, Morgan was sitting on Tony's shoulders, giggling at something silly her Daddy said or did. 

The middle picture, the one she was staring at now, was a black and white photo of Tony by himself, again taken by her. This time he had been aware she was taking it, and he had cocked his head to the side, a smile gracing his lips, and love shining in his eyes.

She reached out towards his picture with her uninjured hand, and she bit back the sob she wanted to let go. She wanted to scream, and scream and scream until her throat hurt but she didn't. She couldn't. She knew that she couldn't because her daughter was sleeping in the room next to hers. She couldn’t do what she wanted to do so much because she didn’t want to scare her daughter or the young man who was now like a son to her. So she settled for crying using her hand to muffle the sound. 

_ I lost it, Tony. I lost it! I lost it because I was  _ so stupid _ ! _

Was she stupid because she wore the necklace out? Or was she stupid because she went without Happy or having some  _ kind _ of security with her? Or was it a combination of both? Did it  _ really _ matter at this point? Because whether it was one or the other or if it were both, the necklace had been stolen away from her ! She had no doubt that at this moment, the person who had it in their possession was trying to find a way to fence it for maybe a few hundred or a few thousand dollars. She knew that she had lost the necklace  **forever** just like she had lost the love of her life and just like with him, she knew she would never lay eyes on it again. 


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's the conclusion. I hope it does not disappoint!

It was four days after she had told Rhodey and Pepper everything that had had the night she was mugged, that she worked on some paperwork after dinner Morgan was sitting close to her on the floor at the coffee table. The little girl was working on a drawing of some sort that would no doubt turn out to be a masterpiece once she was finished with it. The fact that the little girl was finally returning to her art made her mother smile. Morgan had always loved to draw but she hadn't wanted to do it for a long time after her Daddy's death. The fact she was starting to draw again was something Pepper knew was a good sign because it meant that things were slowly starting to approach what would become their new normal in life. She knew them finally beginning to find their new normal for their lives after such a long, hard road was something she knew her grief counselor would call a good thing when she shared the news with her.

Pausing her work a moment to watch her daughter, Pepper couldn't help but hope that perhaps being an artist would be what Morgan decided to do with her life. Life as an artist would be quiet, safe, and so completely unlike her father that even now Pepper knew it was a hope in vain because Morgan reminded her so much of Tony in so many ways.

_ I can still _ hope  _ though _ , she thought to herself.

"Miss Potts?" FRIDAY said suddenly, interrupting her ruminations along with the quiet of their evening.

"Yes, FRIDAY?"

"Peter Parker has just arrived in the building and asked me to inform you of his presence."

_ Hmm, I wonder what he wants?  _ Of course she always welcomed Peter to visit them at any time, but he was usually more conscientious about calling her before he would come over. 

"Peter says that he needs to see you alone, ma'am."

She glanced over at Morgan, and was relieved to see that the girl was still engrossed in her drawing. She put aside her paperwork, "FRIDAY, ask him to come up and we'll talk in my office alone."

"Yes, ma'am."

With that, she once again turned to her daughter, "Morgan honey?"

"Yes, Mommy?" the little girl replied, while she kept on scribbling her colored pencil across the paper.

"Sweetie, we're about to have a visitor."

This made Morgan finally stop and look at her mother, "A visitor?"

"Yes, a visitor."

"Who?"

Pepper hesitated in answering her, because what sort of excited reaction she knew her answer would solicit from Morgant. But, she decided, there was no getting around it because she would see for herself as soon as Peter arrived.

"It's Peter, sweetie," she said. and as she expected, Morgan's eyes lit up after hearing her brother's name. "Morgan, Peter is visiting because he has something he wants to talk about to me... with _ Mommy _ about and he needs to talk with Mommy alone. So after he gets here, and after you tell Peter hello, we're going to go talk in Mommy's office. Alright?" 

She truly hated seeing her daughter's face fall with disappointment. Morgan adored Peter so much, and Pepper was sure that her daughter, with Peter being so busy with other things, felt like she didn't get to see him as often enoughShe knew Morgan felt this way because she herself felt exactly the same. But that was life sometimes, she knew, and Peter was working hard to live his life in a way that would make all the people he had loved that he had lost in his young life proud.

When she realized Morgan had not given her answer, she prompted her, "Okay, sweetheart?"

"Okay, Mommy," Morgan replied, clearly not liking this.

Her timing was good because as soon as she had finished speaking, the doorbell rang. Pepper got up to answer it, but of course Morgan beat her over to it. Thankfully the eight year old knew she wasn't supposed to unlock the door.

She opened the door without bothering to make sure it was Peter on the other side since FRIDAY would have alerted her if it were someone besides him. 

"Peter?"

His back had been facing the door way as he looked down towards the end of the hallway. He turned around at hearing her say his name, and immediately saw she was standing there with her arms opened wide. With a smile, he accepted the hug she was offering to him.

"How are you doing, Peter?"

As they pulled apart, he answered her with a shrug, "Oh, I'm okay."

There was something underlying his tone that belied his words. He sounded a little tired to her, so she asked, "Are you _ okay _ ?"

"Yeah."

The moment ended as they both her a squeal of, "Petey! Petey! Petey! Petey! Petey!"

He looked over Pepper's shoulder to see a certain little girl bouncing on her feet, holding her arms up indicating she wanted a hug. Peter exchanged an amused look with the little girl's mother, and braced himself for her to fly at him once her mother moved aside. He settled down on one knee a split second before her little arms were encircling his neck.

"Petey, I missed you so much!" she exclaimed, burying her face in his neck.

Although it had only been a few days since they'd last seen each other, Peter went along with it, "I'm missed you too, night monkey."

Then just like with any other time she had watched them together, Pepper found herself blinking away tears while her thoughts went off to her lost love once more,  _ Tony, oh how I _ wish _ you could see them together. _

It was a dream he never got to see realized and that  **hurt** her more than she could convey.

"Okay, Morgana, I need to talk to your Mom alone now," Peter patiently said after a few moments of conversing with her.

"Petey, nooooo!" the little girl whined in response.

Pepper's mouth was open to say something but stopped herself when Peter shook his head. She nodded, and stepped back to allow the young man to handle it.

Peter turned his attention back to his little sister once he knew it was okay for him to handle the situation, "We're just going to talk for a little while and then we'll do something together. Okay?"

"Can we go swinging?"

Of course he hadn't missed the horrified look on her mother's face, and he was quick to answer her, "No, of course we can't go swinging!"

"Why not?"

Boy he now regretted the times he had taken her swinging through the trees at the lakeside cabin. He'd been extra careful when the couple of times they'd done it, like making sure they were closer to the ground than to the top of the trees, and he had made sure that he always had an iron grip on her. But they were in the city right now, and he knew there was just no way he could safely take her swinging while they were there. 

"Because I’m not wearing my web shooters, silly goose!" 

“But don't you have your special bag?" She asked pointing to his messenger bad which was slung criss cross over his body. She was too aware, and too familiar with his habit of carrying the shooters in his bag when he wasn't wearing them. 

"Yeah, I do have my special bag with me, squirt! But they're not in there today!" He was so glad that he in fact had not put them in there today because he didn't want to have to lie to her. He wanted Morgan to be able to trust him always, and building that trust with her meant he couldn’t lie to her.

She gave him a deflated, "Oh."

"Sorry." He stole a peek at Pepper, and she gave him a relieved nod. He returned his eyes to Morgan, "Okay, your Mom and I are going to have our talk now."

"Okay."

The little girl still sounded reluctant about them going to talk in another room without her but at least she wasn't fighting them either of them over it. Pepper told Peter to go ahead to her office, telling him she'd follow there in a second. He stayed in the hallway long enough to hear her setup Morgan with one of her pre-recorded TV shows, before he stepped into her office.

While he waited, Peter looked around the room. He noted a long time ago that Pepper had kept the room's decor simple but always classy. The walls were painted in a soft cream color, and a dark wooden desk near the back wall of the room. In the opposite corner, a matching bookcase had been placed. Of course since she was none other than Pepper Potts, everything he could see on the desk and bookcase were in the neatest, most organized order. His eyes were eventually drawn to the various family and friends some photos that Pepper had placed throughout the room. He tried not to study them in depth because he knew  _ whose _ face he’d see among them. 

It had been five years since they'd lost Tony. Peter was doing okay, a lot better than he had been after it had first happened. For the longest time afterwards, he didn't think he would ever be able to get over watching Tony take his final breaths in front of him. Tony's death had hurt him as much as his Uncle Ben's had. He still had some days where something would trigger the hurt all over again, and make him feel like it had just happened the day before. But those days were coming less and less now, and because he didn’t want to ruin the streak of good days he’d been having by looking at the pictures now.

"I'm sorry about that," Pepper said as she came into the room and closed the door most of the way.

He turned around, smiling, "It's okay." 

She walked over to the couch in another corner of the room, and sitting down, gesturing for him to join her. She waited until he was sitting by her to ask him, "How are you  _ really _ doing, Peter?"

"I'm good." When she raised a skeptical eyebrow, he hastily added, "Really I am. I mean I'm a little tired but…” He shrugged, “that's because I've been so busy with school and work and..."

Pepper laid her hand on his arm, and squeezed, "Alright, Peter, I believe you. You don't have to keep going on to convince me!" 

He nodded, falling quiet, smiling as his cheeks flushed a little, and he dropped his head, "I just don't want to waste it you know? I mean me having the best life I can is the only way I know how to... to  _ thank _ him for... for..." Peter gulped, and looked away from her, blinking back tears.

She watched as he took in several deep breaths, trying to get a hold on his emotions. She gave him a moment to wrestle with his feelings before giving his arm another squeeze, "Peter? Please listen to what I want to say to you, okay?"

A nod was the only response she got from him but it told her he was listening.

"You don't have to keep doing certain things to the point of exhaustion or  _ burning _ yourself out just to show you're grateful for what Tony  _ did _ ."

Wet eyes met her eyes, "I'm not. I'm not doing it just because I'm grateful! I'm... I am doing it too because wherever he is, if he can see me... see us... I want him to be  _ proud _ of me too!" He turned his head away from her again, raising a hand to swipe away what she knew was a tear.

"Oh honey, I know I asked you to listen to me before but I  _ really need _ you to listen to me now, alright? I think you need to know and  _ understand _ something very important. First of all, Peter, I know I have told you this before but I am going to say it again because I think you need to hear it again. Tony loved you so much. You are part of the small circle of people he  **loved** so much that while you were gone, he was never quite the same. He couldn't or wouldn't be the same as long as you were gone. And don't you dare say the words _ 'But he had you and Morgan and and...' _ Yes, he had us and loved us too, more than anything. But Peter, even with us with him, his heart was incomplete. Do you know  _ why _ ? It’s because while you weren’t here, he also had a Peter shaped hole in his heart that  _ no one _ , not even Morgan or I, could  **ever** fill. Okay? You hear what I am saying to you, Peter? You were  _ special  _ to Tony, and were you loved by him. Don't you ever  **ever** doubt it again."

Peter nodded, sniffling a little bit as Pepper pulled him into a hug.

"I mean it, Peter. This is the  _ last _ time I ever want you to doubt how Tony felt about you. Okay? You hear me?" As she began to pet his hair, she felt him nodded against her shoulder. They stayed this way for a few minutes, and then Peter pulled back, wiping at his eyes with his the heel of his hands. "Feeling better for real now?"

He bobbed his head, "Yeah, a little..." A tissue appeared in his field of vision, and taking it he gave her a small smile, "Thanks."

She gave him a little time to allow him so he could pull himself together, then she gently asked, "So, what was it you needed to see me about?"

Peter wiped his nose again, and he picked up his messenger bag from the floor. He opened it, reached inside, and just before he pulled out whatever it was inside he looked at her, "I wanted to see you because I wanted to give you this." He pulled out a blue jewelry box and held it out towards her, "This belongs to you."

"This belong to..." Pepper repeated, not sure she understood the meaning of his words but nevertheless took the box into her hand, "What do you mean?"

He smiled at her, "Well you've gotta open it to see."

In her heart, she already knew what she was going to find once she had removed the box's lid. But even so, when she put aside the lid and saw what she  _ knew _ would be there, she still gasped. Then all she could do was stare at the contents of the box until her vision started to blur.

"Uh, Miss Potts?" Peter said, voice tinge with concern, "Are you okay?"

Pepper's answer to his question was for her to throw her arms around the young man and hug him as tightly as she could, "Oh Peter, thank you! Thank you so much!"

"You're welcome," he muttered in return, then asked again, "Are you okay?" To his relief, she pulled back, nodding as she did. He grabbed a couple of tissues from the box and offered them to her like she had for him just minutes ago.

Nodding, she took the tissues, wiped her eyes, and then looked at the necklace again. Running her fingers over it, she reassured him, "I'm... so much better than I was on the night that I lost this." She looked up at him again, "Oh Peter! Where did you find this?  _ How _ did you find this?"

"Uh where I found it?"

She nodded again.

"Let's uh just say that I found it in an interesting part in town and..."

_ An interesting part of town? _ Pepper knew the translation for that meant something along the lines of,  **It was actually a dangerous part of town!** Pepper swallowed hard at the realization, even while she imagined how Tony would have reacted at hearing that Peter had gone after the guy who had mugged her. She didn't doubt he wouldn't have liked it one bit and neither did she really.

"Peter, while I don't know  _ how _ to thank you for getting this back for me, I  _ really _ wish you hadn't put yourself in a dangerous situation like that. Yes, losing this  **hurt ** me so much but... but getting it back wouldn't be worth it to me if  _ you _ had been hurt..." _ Or even worse, killed! _

He shrugged, "It wasn’t a big deal at all, Miss Potts. Not really. See all it took to find it was sending out a few drones to do a little surveillance, and I found where the guy was trying to sell it off to some other guy, who I think was a black market creep or something."

"Peter..."

"It's okay, Miss Potts. I promise 'cause even if I hadn't surprised them... they were way too busy and focused on how much black market guy was gonna pay the stupid robber guy to even notice I was watching them! Even when they did notice, they weren't really a match for me!" When she raises a skeptical eyebrow in his direction, he added, "I promise I wasn't in _ any _ real danger!"

She had watched him as he talked and Pepper could tell that he was  _ probably  _ holding something back. 

_ Oh well, _ she thought,  _ Might as well better let it go unless you want to accuse him of lying. Just be _ grateful  _ that he this back for you, Potts!!! _

She was grateful too. With Tony gone, there would have been no way for her to  _ ever  _ replace so precious a gift. Although the same was true if he were still with her since the metal he had used to make it had been the shrapnel that'd been embedded around his heart for years following Afghanistan. 

_ But if he were still here, you wouldn't need to have the necklace! _

"Miss Potts?" 

She heard Peter saying her name but she didn't respond to until he did something he'd only done a handful of times over the years.

"Uh... Pepper?"

The sound of Tony's old nickname of endearment falling off of Peter's tongue broke the spell the necklace had cast over her, and she raised her eyes up to his concerned face.

"Are you okay?" he asked.

She slowly nodded, "Yes, I'm okay. I just...I just thought this was gone and I don't know what to say other than thank you so  **much ** for getting this back for me, Peter!"

Peter's face flushed, and he gave her what she was sure was an embarrassed smile, "You're very welcome, Miss Potts, but like I said it wasn't that big of a deal."

Pepper had been about to reassure the recovery of the necklace was indeed a big deal but FRIDAY broke into the conversation, "I am sorry to interrupt, Miss Potts, but I think young Miss Stark maybe be getting bored. The third episode of her program just finished playing and she isn't sitting as still or as quietly as she did during the first two episodes."

"Hmm, I guess that means we should..." she glanced at her watch as she spoke, "Wow! We've been here longer than I thought we were!"

Peter looked at his own watch, "Yeah wow, I am  _ really _ surprised that she's not interrupted us before now." He knew how much Morgan loved playing with him and it looked like their playtime tonight would either be very short or canceled all together since he was certain his little sister still needed to get a bath. "Hey, since it’s getting close to Morgana’s bedtime how about I come over tomorrow night after dinner and spend some time with Morgan?"

Placing her chin on her hand for a moment, she considered it. then she nodded, "Okay, but only if you don't have something else already planned for tomorrow night."

"No, I don't have anything already planned."

Something told her that wasn't exactly true but she decided not to press the matter any further. She decided to press another point instead, "Okay, then it is a deal if and only  _ if _ you'll come over to have dinner with us too."

He only hesitated a second, "Okay, I can come for dinner too. That's no problem."

"Well, I think we have a deal then, Mr. Parker."

"Yeah, I think we do, Miss Potts."

Pepper rose from her seat, "As much as I hate to disappoint Morgan tonight by telling her you two can't play before she goes to bed, I suppose I need to get it over with."

"Yeah," Peter agreed, hating the thought to himself, "But hey maybe it'd soften the blow a little if we said it's okay I read to her or maybe tell her a story? That is, if that's okay with you if I do?"

"Of course it's okay, Peter. Come on, let's go talk to her before she--"

"MOMMY!"

Shaking her head, Pepper asked, “Why don’t you go tell Little Miss about the change of plans while I put this away?”

Peter nodded, “Okay, Miss Potts.”

After he left her office, she went over to her desk where FRIDAY had already opened the drawer for her, “Thanks, FRI. Locks this up please and restrict access to this draw to me only until further notice.”

“Yes, Miss Potts.”

She kissed the jewelry box before putting it inside the drawer, and watched as the AI closed it.


End file.
